July 2012

Madonna's pop-up shoe boutique in Selfridges has proved an unprecedented success with shoppers - becoming more popular than the temporary retail spaces of Aldo Rise, United Nude, Swedish Hasbeens and Marc by Marc Jacobs pumps.
'It's been thrilling to see our customers' response to this project - the Truth Or Dare collection has proven to be our most commercially successful footwear pop-up this year so far,' shoes buying manager Helen Attwood. 'It's one of the most successful celebrity endorsements we've ever worked on.'
Selfridges launched the Truth Or Dare collection just over a week ago, with some styles already selling out. The range, which comes in a monochrome colour palette, features all from flat brogues to towering platforms and stiletto boots.
'We have already had to re-order on almost half the styles we carry,' added Attwood. 'Bestselling styles have been the Panu studded court shoe and the Cedia brogue in black.'

Okay, so on one hand, Madonna's one-off Jean Paul Gaultier cage corset will probably never be available for wide public consumption. Nor will virtually ANY of her MDNA tour costumes. If you're anything like us, you've spent more than one sleepless night mourning this sad fact, clutching framed pictures of the JPG sketches in your bedroom with 'Frozen' on constant repeat. Well, dry your eyes, chipmunks. According to our friends at InStyle, Madge's makeup artist Gina Brooke has teamed up with the cosmetics brand Make Up For Ever for a collaboration that will bring you that much closer to your MDNA dreams.
Thanks to the Brooke x Make Up For Ever match-up, Madonna custom MDNA tour pout can be all YOURS starting August 9th! The bright red Aqua Rouge #8 lip color with extra staying power (duhhhh, this is made for wear on STAGE where there's no room for reapplication) is scheduled to hit sephora.com early next month and will be available for just $24 - a small price to pay for beauty proximity to Her Madgesty.
'I wanted to come up with a perfect, pure red lip color that would exude confidence and beauty,' Brooke said of the specially made lipstick, 'To me, the shade looks iconic, which is the perfect word to define Madonna and her career.' What do you think? Will you buy Madonna's custom lip color?

For the past couple of days, the media has enjoyed a field day reporting on how Madonna's career is over with since she was booed off stage at a private Paris concert. They have been doing this despite the fact that videos show the crowd having a great time and dancing. To make the story more believable, the media emphasized how after the show, 'fans' threw bottles at the stage and called her a 'slut.' Until now, nobody looked into the allegations.
It turns out that many fans did feel shortchanged due to lack of communication on how the show would be shorter. But the actual riots and the screaming were started by supporters of Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far right National Front in Paris. Apparently, they are still upset that Madonna compares Le Pen to a Nazi in her tour. Even though Le Pen isn't a Nazi, the National Front has been accused of having Nazi ties and until recently, denied the Holocaust existed.
The French DST (equivalent to FBI in America) reported that a disturbance was planned, whether Madonna left early or not. There were several people holding up signs that made fun of Madonna's age, sexuality, and political affiliations. Once the show stopped, they started calling her rude names, rushed the stage with bottles, and encouraged others to boo. They took videos and uploaded them to YouTube immediately.
But Le Pen's supporters aren't the only ones involved. On several sites, many of Lady Gaga's 'little monsters' are asking each other to post messages everywhere to say they can confirm Madonna is a liar since they were at the show. They are even posting false pictures of themselves at concerts and saying it was Madonna's Paris show. It's doubtful Lady Gaga would approve of this.
One fan emailed us and explained that he and his friends had an amazing time, but were certainly disappointed about the show's lengh. 'Madonna was in top form. It's a shame she left early, but we still had a great time. I can tell you from being there that her own 'fans' did not start any riots. That is just media spin. There are people negatively commenting on Twitter who claim to have been at the show, but weren't. I can tell you 100 percent of what happened because I was there.'

From Examiner.com

Below is a picture taken by madonnalicious of one of the lines of white police vans around the corner from the Olympia Music Hall - if we had known what was to happen later we would have taken more pictures - and much closer!

'Playing the Olympia was a magical moment for me and it was real treat to do this special show for my fans and be so close to them. Unfortunately at the end of the show - after I left the stage - a few thugs who were not my fans rushed the stage and started throwing plastic bottles pretending to be angry fans. The press reports have focused on this and not the joyous aspect of the evening. But nothing can take away or ruin this very special evening for me and my fans. When I looked out in the audience, everyone I saw had a smile on their face. I look forward to having this wonderful experience again.'

If you are seeing Madonna's MDNA show in Warsaw you need to join the party - right after the concert. Hosts are UltraMadonna - official fan-club in Poland and MadonnaNewEra - one of the oldest websites dedicated to Madonna in the world. MDNA After Party takes place in Hunters Club which is very well known and exclusive gay club in Warsaw. We will provide you not only great Madonna music all night long but also delicious drinks (MDNA one included!) and some other attractions through the party.

Entry is free as long as you show up with your concert ticket. Please join our event on Facebook and feel free to ask any questions at facebook.com/events

Madonna fans vented their anger after the star ended a special intimate show in Paris after just 45 minutes.
The singer said she had 'a special affinity with France' as she opened the last minute concert, but drew boos from many disappointed fans.
Some had camped outside the Olympia club since Wednesday in anticipation of the show.
The 2,000 tickets sold out in minutes, with fans paying between £80-£200 and some changing hands for up to £1,000.
Madonna was also criticised for talking about politics instead of singing, after revealing she had a message for France's extreme right-wing leader Marine Le Pen.
France's National Front is threatening to sue the star for using an image of Ms Le Pen with a Swastika superimposed on her forehead at a concert earlier this month.
'I know that I have made a certain Marine Le Pen very angry with me,' Madonna told fans.
'It's not my intention to make enemies. It's my intention to promote tolerance,' she continued.
Afterwards 33-year-old Guillaume Delaval complained: 'She spoke for 15 minutes about tolerance, it's not the UN here.'
Speaking to the BBC's John Hand at the show, Paris resident Allain Zambrana, 26, from Nicaragua, said he wanted to ask for his money back.
'I felt very frustrated because I camped out on the streets and then the show just ends like that.'
Several fans cried 'refund!' as they realised Madonna had left the stage for good, with some audience members taking to Twitter to complain.
'We are singing 'shame on you',' explained Pierre from Belgium. 'Because she says she loves her fans but then she does this.'
Dutch fan Ellis Van Zoen, 22, agreed the show was 'very short', but added: 'I'm torn - I thought it was a fantastic show and it was special. I don't want to see fans yelling at her but I can understand why.'
Madonna also offered veiled criticism of the party's anti-immigrant stance, as she paid homage to a France which she said had once 'opened its arms to minorities'.
'We are entering some very scary times in the world,' she told the crowd.
'People are afraid, and what happens when people are afraid? They say 'get out! You're the reason. You're the problem. You're to blame.''
The 53-year-old, who performed in an array of outfits including a black leather pencil skirt and French beret, also paid tribute to several French artists.
The event was also streamed live on YouTube, where separate footage showed fans chanting and booing while throwing throwing empty bottles and cups onto the stage after the singer had left.

'Madonna's Paris club show was planned as her heartfelt thank-you to France, which she expressed at the start of her show. Despite a grueling concert tour, she desperately wanted to perform for her fans in an intimate setting at the historic Olympia as a means to honor her love for French artists, French cinema and a tribute to France's long history of welcoming and inspiring artists, authors, painters, poets and minorities from other countries over the years.'

'The show was not billed as her full MDNA concert and tremendous effort was made to keep the ticket prices reasonable ($100 for 2,000 floor seats) and keep them strictly for her fans. The show cost Madonna close to a million dollars to produce. She has done a handful of club dates in the past and they were never more than 45 minutes. And by the way, she put on a fabulous show, which was streamed for millions of fans around the world.'

Pop star Madonna treated fans to an intimate show at Paris' famed Olympia theatre on Thursday, voicing her love for a France that is open to minorities and artists and reinterpreting 'Je t'aime moi non plus,' a song laced with sexual innuendo.
Tickets for the surprise show - a last-minute addition to Madonna's 'MDNA' tour - were offered first to members of her fan club and sold out within minutes. Some people began gathering outside the Olympia as early as Wednesday for the show, and anticipation was running high.
In the end, reaction was mixed and some in the audience voiced disappointment at the show's length, a mere 45 minutes. A few called for refunds as they left the 2,700-seat theatre, Paris' oldest surviving music hall which has welcomed iconic stars from Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel to the Rolling Stones.
The concert was expected to have a political overtone to it, and Madonna started off on a rebellious note.
'I have a special affinity with France, and I have for many years,' the pop star shouted at the start. 'It could go all the way to Napoleon because I think of myself as a revolutionary.'
Yet there was no repeat of the performance she gave at the 80,000-seat Stade de France on July 14, which angered France's far right party leader Marine Le Pen by showing a picture of her with a swastika superimposed on her face.
France's National Front has since announced it will sue her.
On Thursday, Madonna offered only veiled criticism of the party's anti-immigrant stance, paying homage to a France which she said once 'opened its arms to minorities.'
'I know that I have made a certain Marine Le Pen very angry with me,' she said, adding that her intention was not to make enemies. 'We are entering some very scary times in the world. People are afraid, and what happens when people are afraid? They say 'get out! You're the reason. You're the problem. You're to blame,' she told the audience.
Tickets for the show, which included both classics and songs from her latest album 'MDNA,' started at 80 euros ($98) and were offered first to members of Madonna's fan club. They sold out in less than 5 minutes, organizers said, and the Olympia's website crashed several times due to heavy traffic.
Fans started gathering at noon on Wednesday to attend the show, with many pitching tents on the sidewalk to make sure they got as close as possible to the Material Girl.
Die-hard fan, 25-year-old Ally Gloser from Cologne, Germany, said she had bought tickets for 11 of Madonna's shows over the summer, at a cost of 2,500 euros.
'Normally, I'm a student. Now I'm a poor student,' she said.
True to form, the 53-year-old offered up an array of sexy outfits and age-defying moves, at one point adding a French touch for Parisian fans with a black leather pencil skirt, red lipstick, and a French beret. She paid tribute to several French artists, including actor Alain Delon and singer Piaf.
'I walk in her footsteps, actually I crawl in her footsteps', she said of the 'La Vie en rose' singer while kneeling on stage.
Under red lights and on an entirely empty stage, Madonna sang the famous French song, 'Je t'aime moi non plus' ('I love you, neither do I') written by Serge Gainsbourg in the late 1960s. She tied a dance partner down on a chair and pretended to shoot him in the mouth.
Audience reaction to the show was mixed.
'The show itself was pretty good, but she didn't even sing for an hour', complained 33-year-old Guillaume Delaval. 'She spoke for 15 minutes about tolerance, it's not the U.N. here.'
Pierce Brosnan, the Irish actor who played in four James Bond movies, attended the show with his wife.
'We're fans. My wife wanted to come, so we bought tickets,' he told Reuters, explaining he was in Paris to shoot a movie with Emma Thompson called 'Love Punch.'

This press picture shows Madonna and one of her dancers performing 'Je t'aime moi non plus' as a finale to last nights show at the Olympia Music Hall in Paris.

She opened the show with an energetic performance of 'Turn Up The Radio' that got the whole venue jumping, followed by 'Open Your Heart'. We then had 'Vogue' (which is breathtaking in such a small venue), with 'Candy Shop' and 'Human Nature'. A great Beautiful Killer/Die Another Day mix (which MUST be added to the tour) was followed by 'Je t'aime moi non plus' as the finale.

After a great show, in an amazing small venue, the billed 'Special Club' mini show caused problems with some fans, who when the stage crew came on to dismantle the set, turned on Madonna shouting 'Salope', throwing empty bottles on stage and demanding a refund. Yes there were angry fans BUT it was not the entire audience. Some were happy to have seen Madonna at such an intimate venue.

Following overwhelming demand for tickets to Madonna's intimate club show scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 26th at the historic Olympia in Paris, the Material Girl has invited her fans around the world to see her performance via a live global stream through LoveLive's YouTube channel beginning 10:15pm Paris time CEST; 4:15pm EDT. There will also be a post stream of the show where the footage can be viewed in its entirety.
The show, which was confirmed by Live Nation - Madonna's MDNA international tour partner - will include songs from the artist's current album, MDNA, along with her new single, 'Turn Up The Radio' as well as several classics. MDNA which was released by Universal Records debuted at No. 1 in over 40 countries. The Olympia, founded in 1888 has been the site of legendary shows by performers such as Marlene Dietrich, Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour.
Toby L, Creative Director of LoveLive commented: 'We are beyond elated to be hosting a global stream of one of the world's most iconic artists in such a unique and intimate circumstance which will bring our audience closer than ever to Madonna. This performance typifies what we're doing with the LoveLive music series, which will continue to feature the world's most recognisable music artists.'
Patrick Walker, Senior Director, Content Partnerships EMEA, YouTube commented: 'It's incredibly exciting that Madonna's performance from this iconic, intimate venue will be available to her fans around the world via YouTube. No one needs to miss out on this great addition to YouTube's music line-up this summer.'

Madonna has spoken about an image used during her current MDNA tour which showed a swastika imposed onto the face of a French politician.
The controversial symbol was included in a video accompanying the song Nobody Knows Me, as she performed in Paris.
It showed the face of Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front party, with a swastika on her forehead.
Interviewed for a Brazilian TV channel, Madonna said all images used were chosen 'purposefully'.
'That film that was created is about the intolerance that we human beings have for one another and how much we judge people before knowing them,' she said.
France's National Front party (FN) said it planned to sue the US singer following the use of the image at her concert in the Stade de France on 14 July.
The video had already appeared earlier in Madonna's 30-nation MDNA world tour, sparking a warning from Ms Le Pen that she was considering legal action.
FN vice-president Florian Philippot said the party could not accept 'such an odious comparison'.
But Madonna refused to edit the video and, speaking before her concert in Brazil, the singer said 'all images in the video were chosen purposefully'.
'There seems to be a growing intolerance around the world. In Greece, France, everywhere people are trying to kick out all the immigrants, make people cover up and not show what their religious affiliation is.'
'Think about what's going on in Russia towards the gay community,' she said.
'I'm calling attention to that intolerance and asking people to pay attention, to wake up to see how we are just creating more chaos in the world.'
Displaying the swastika image has not been the only controversy on Madonna's MDNA tour.
During her show in Edinburgh on 21 July, the singer defied warnings not to brandish a gun during her performance following the recent shootings at a cinema screening of Batman in Colorado.
Madonna said she believed it is an artist's responsibility to call attention to world events 'and to help bring people together'.
'Art is there to track what's going on in the world, to make social commentary,' she said.

Madonna can flash any body part she wants in Dublin tonight 0 but she'd better be off stage before 11pm.
The Material Girl has been busy flashing her nipples and buttocks to audience members during her world tour. And the 53-year-old caused further controversy with her use of guns and swastikas on her MDNA tour.
But promoters MCD have confirmed that the superstar has not been issued with any guidelines about her performance - or state of (un)dress - for her only Irish concert at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
However, she has been warned that the show must wrap up by the 11pm curfew.
Under the terms of the Dublin City Council licence, Madonna must finish her performance at the venue before 11pm, or incur a large fine.
Bruce Springsteen closed his marathon three-hour-plus concert at the RDS last Tuesday at 10.46pm, well before the 11pm curfew.
In July 2009, Springsteen and his E Street band racked up an estimated €50,000 in fines when they breached the curfew by 15 minutes at the RDS with their first concert, and 19 minutes at their second gig.
Fans have been warned not to expect a greatest hits setlist.
Although she will play some '80s material, much of the set is drawn from her new 'MDNA' album.
Some concert-goers in Dublin may get an extra helping of Madonna if she decides to let fans in early to watch her soundcheck.
At other dates on her 26-city world tour, fans turning up early to get access to the pit area in front of the stage were invited into the venue to see her rehearse.
Madonna will take to the stage at 9pm.
Tickets for the concert are still available and are priced from €54.65.

Madonna's costume designer felt like 'E.T.' when he was hand-stitching her outfits on a plane.
The singer wowed crowds in London as she performed her MDNA tour in Hyde Park. Her outlandish outfits were designed by John Paul Gaultier, who revamped the famous conical corset bra from her 1990's Blond Ambition tour.
Also responsible for dressing Madonna is the lesser-known designer Fausto Puglisi who created the furs, chains and ram masks seen on her backing dancers.
The clothes creator has revealed what it's like working for the Queen of Pop.
'It all started during the promotion of Music, when Madonna wore my blouses. I was a boy and Arianne [Phillips - Madonna's long-time stylist] and Madonna have trusted me ever since.' Puglisi explained to UK newspaper the Telegraph.
'At the MTV Europe Music Awards in Stockholm [in 2000], Madonna wore an amazing Dolce & Gabbana red cowboy suit and I designed bling-bling, Swarovski accessories for her. I can't forget all the work I did by hand, putting hundreds of crystals and beads on while flying from Rome to New York.'
'The hostesses were looking at me like I was E.T.'
The 36-year-old Sicilian is quickly building up a reputation in the fashion industry. His flamboyant creations that suit the Madonna tour so well have also caught the eye of super star divas Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé Knowles. Despite his influence on Madonna's style, Puglisi believes the real credit for the star's look should be given elsewhere.
'It's all about the incredible work of Arianne Phillips [Madonna's long-time stylist].' Puglisi revealed. 'She knows what works on Her Madgesty.'

US pop diva Madonna, who is worth $650 million, has launched a new fund-raising drive to support the work of a Malawian paediatric surgeon, her charity announced, two years after she abandoned a girls' academy project in a cloud of alleged mismanagement.
Through her US registered charity Raising Malawi, the 'Queen of Pop' has emailed hordes of her well-wishers and fans, addressing them as Dear Friend, and asking: 'Will you consider donating $5 or more to support people like Dr. Erick Borgstein, for many years the only paediatric surgeon in Malawi, who are helping orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi?'
Malawi, where 39 percent of the 13 million citizens are poor, has over one million orphans and vulnerable children, and less than 200 doctors, creating huge shortages in the medical system.
The charity said Borgstein 'treats thousands of paediatric patients every year, performing hundreds of life-saving operations.'
He also trains medical students in general and in paediatric surgery, thanks to the financial support from Raising Malawi.
'He will now formally train a young Malawian doctor to follow in his footsteps as a paediatric surgeon,' the charity added.
Raising Malawi said for the past six years, it has 'remained committed to supporting orphans and vulnerable children in Malawi...This would not be possible without the support of people like you, who share in our mission to end the poverty and hardship endured by the country's estimated one million orphans.'
Calling itself the Raising Malawi Team, the charity thanked its supporters 'for your support...we look forward to sharing future updates with you about the inspirational work of Dr. Borgstein and others.'
It was not clear how much money Madonna is seeking in this new venture, coming more than a year after her charity controversially cancelled the construction of a state-of-the-art $15 million Raising Malawi Academy for Girls -RMAG- in Chinkhota village, 15 kilometres from the capital Lilongwe.
The academy, meant to offer 500 scholarship to girls from poor backgrounds and train them into doctors and future leaders of the country, was mired in allegations of mismanagement, including excessive spending on offices and cars. An audit had found $3.8 million had been misused.
Madonna, who has adopted two children from Malawi - Mercy James and David Banda - said she had realised the academy would not be enough as two-thirds of Malawian girls are not educated beyond primary school and she wanted to reach 'thousands and not hundreds of girls' by constructing several schools.
She said she was focussed on an approach to build 10 schools within communities across the country, that would educate at least 1,000 children a year, half of them girls.
The charity has teamed up with the non-profit group buildOn, which has constructed 54 primary schools in Malawi in the last 19 years.

Here is an article from the Evening Express talking about how Madonna defied a 'reported police ban on using replica guns on stage' in Edinburgh:

Madonna brought her MDNA tour to Scotland at the weekend - and defied a reported police ban on replica guns on stage.
Pop star Madonna – who has never performed in Scotland before – brandished pistols and an AK47 assault rifle during the show at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.
Police reportedly warned Madonna not to use the guns at the Scotland gig or they might be forced to interrupt the show. In the end no action was taken.
Anti-gun campaign group Mothers Against Guns had urged Madonna to remove the guns from the performance at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.
A spokeswoman said: 'Madonna and her dancers using replica guns was always in bad taste but given what happened in Colorado it is even worse. She should know better.'

And this a press statement from Superintendent Craig Naylor, the event commander for Lothian and Borders Police:

'What we are talking about are theatrical stage props. It is a show. It does not concern me. I have been assured by the organisers that these are imitation weapons. It is the same kind of display we are likely to see at the Edinburgh Festival next month'.

During the Edinburgh show it began to rain, and Madonna herself starting drying the stage during her 'Like A Prayer' performance as this clip filmed by madonnalicious reader Peter shows. Later during 'Celebration' Guy Oseary was on stage drying duties too.

Fans who were at Murrayfield Stadium for when the doors opened got to see a ten song soundcheck - which carried on for over an hour.

It was an amazing experience to be there, Madonna was very chatty with the crowd. In this picture she is asking a fan to teach her how to count in a Scottish accent, which Madonna then attempted herself.

Dublin's Tuesday nightclub Glitz is hosting a Mega Madonna After Party next Tuesday, July 24.

Madonna lands in Dublin next week for her gig at the Aviva Stadium, and Glitz at Dandelion Nightclub at St. Stephens Green are opening their doors at 11pm to continue the party!
The upper level will be a non-stop Madonna zone with DJ Fluffy, giveaways and a themed cocktail menu. Downstairs DJ Christian Homan from RTE Pulse will keep the party going until 3am with special guest act Melissa Totten, the world's top Madonna tribute act, live on stage at 1am.
To top it all off there is a €250 prize for the best Madonna lookalike!

Madonna rolls into Dublin next week to play the Aviva Stadium as part of her 'controversial' MDNA world tour. She may have lost her power to truly shock a long time ago but what annoys Madonna haters the most is the fact that, at the age of 53, she keeps on keeping on, says Alan Corr.
She's only two months into her MDNA world tour but already Madonna has cried live on stage, flashed the audience in Turkey, flashed the audience in Rome, made some silly statements about drug use, flashed the audience in Paris, and incurred the wrath of French far right leader Marine Le Pen by showing pictures of her face plastered with swastikas as part of the stage show.
Maybe it's all in a bid to make up for the lack of decent songs on her new album, but Madonna was at in again in Hyde Park the other night - dropping her drawers during a rendition of Human Nature. So the original of the species is back doing her utmost to annoy as many prudes and killjoys as possible and good for her. It's all good dirty fun to some people; tiresome attention seeking to others. However, as has been the case for far too long, some arbiters of bad taste have decreed that Madonna should no longer be allowed to (even try) playing shock tactics any more.
It's true that the last truly shocking thing she did was release the album MDNA but right now, Madonna haters are out in force. They hate the fact that she's made a cool $50 million in the first two months of her current tour and they've always hated the fact that she's an aggressively ambitious woman who has spent her career smashing barriers, glass ceilings, and taboos.
But what really gets them hating till it hurts is the fact that, at 53, Madonna plainly doesn't care what they think and has no intention of stopping. They may find her more boring than actually shocking but boy are they still mad and it's their very ire that seems to keep her going.
Madonna bashers seem to consider her an embarrassment to womankind and pop music in the same way that some feminists and music snobs were conflicted by her blatant careerism and sexual aggression when she first arrived thirty years ago.

Madonna's first indoor seated arena show of the tour at the NIA in Birmingham last night was one of the best shows so far - even if there were several technical problems during the show!

Firstly no motel set appeared for 'Gang Bang', the choreography was changed slightly and no 'assassin' came down from the 'helicopter'.
The screens appeared to be partially stuck open during the 'Justify My Love' interlude revealing the 'Vogue' set.
It appeared that the stage risers failed at the beginning of 'I'm Addicted' as we could hear Madonna singing, but she and the dancers didn't appear up on the catwalk end stage until halfway through the first verse.

None of this made any difference, there seemed so much more energy and despite the issues Madonna was in a great mood, even (nearly) breaking into giggles during the 'Like A Virgin' corset tightening (and boy did he tighten that tight last night).

We got a great speech, containing more f*cks than The David Letterman Show (well we didn't actually count but you get the idea...) - video to follow later!

To experience the show from the tip of the catwalk end is THE place to see the show, you can experience all the visuals, and when Madonna reaches the catwalk end she is really close it is an amazing experience!

Queen of pop Madonna may have been slated for peeling off her clothes in her latest show, but that didn’t put off her Birmingham fans.
Many thought criticism of her Hyde Park show in London was unwarranted and declared “Madonna will never be too old to strip”.
Ishi Khan-Jackson, 22, of Loughborough, said: 'Madonna is an inspiration. People are quick to judge on age but she is an icon and if we didn’t know her date of birth, we wouldn’t care. I think its great for the Midlands that she has finally come here.'
Customer service advisor Sue Martin, 43, from Wolverhampton, added: 'I’ve been a fan for a long time. But I’m a Madonna virgin when it comes to her gigs. I’m really excited.'
Fans began queuing to see the Material Girl at around 4pm, despite the rain.
Lifelong fan Cyndee Davies, 37, of Bewdley, couldn’t wait to hear her sing 80s hit Express Yourself.
'I love the song, and Vogue is my second favourite. I dont care if she strips off in the show. I wish I had a body like her and I’m 13 years younger. Even though I’m a fan I’ve never seen her in concert before so I’m so glad she’s come to Birmingham.'
Paul Ferns, a dancer, travelled from Liverpool to see the star.
'It’s my ninth Madonna gig,' he said. 'And she’s definitely not too old to strip.'

Organizers of a Madonna concert in the Polish capital have agreed to a request from city officials to start the show with a brief clip about the Warsaw Uprising, the 1944 revolt against Nazi rule, in a nod to war veterans.
Some veterans and young Catholics have voiced anger that the Aug. 1 concert falls on the 68th anniversary of the uprising.
The 63-day rebellion ended in the deaths of up to 200,000 Poles and the destruction of the city. Every year, the anniversary is marked with somber commemorations, with the wailing of a siren, a minute of silence and special prayers in churches.
City officials proposed airing a clip about the revolt to allay the veterans' feelings.
Ania Pietrzak, a spokeswoman for concert organizer Live Nation, said Wednesday that organizers had agreed to that.
'It is an important moment in Polish history, so we have decided to remind people of that moment,' she said.
Poland is a largely Roman Catholic country where some people object to what they consider Madonna's sacrilegious use of Christian imagery. Madonna's last concert in Warsaw, in 2009, also sparked protests because it fell on Aug. 15, the holiday celebrating the heavenly assumption of the Virgin Mary.
Several billboards promoting the latest concert were defaced, including some with Madonna's face crossed out.

Charlie Alderwick has published this article on 'The Independent Blogs' where he talks about the MDNA show, Piers Morgan, Gaga and pretty much tell Madonna-bashers what's what!

On Tuesday night Madonna brought her MDNA tour to England, performing a show in Hyde Park that was witty, narrative and relentlessly energetic, as well as the ridiculous spectacle you would expect from the Queen of Pop. After emerging on stage from a confession box brandishing a firearm, she wasted no time in introducing slackline walking, video screen cameos from hip-hop heavyweights, a troop of military drummers suspended from the ceiling, and much more.
My friends and I were enthralled throughout the two hour experience, screaming and clapping at Madonna’s various gymnastics, jokes and the moments of meritable vocal performance, agreeing in the post-concert buzz that the vibrancy and cleverness of MDNA leaves her previous tour lying in the dust.
Aside from the fair point that the sound could have done with being a great deal louder, criticisms of the concert have been overwhelmingly predictable. Renowned antagonist Piers Morgan, whose never-ending throwing of cheap insults at Madonna in a bid for column inches to boost his plummeting American TV career, is echoed by others who seem to have adopted his trite view that Madonna is too old to attempt business-as-usual in her pop career. This view fatally overlooks the artifice of any pop personality.
You do not go to a gig to find out about a real individual, their favourite food, their personal details - indeed, their age. When Eminem murders his mother in a music video, do we really think he is at high-risk of committing matricide? When Rihanna sings 'chains and whips excite me' do we really believe that she is a depraved frequenter of S&M dungeons? No, we do not.

Madonna plays her second UK concert tonight at the NIA in Birmingham. In a first for the tour so far this will be an indoor fully seated seated arena (no general admission floor standing) and a golden triangle full of ICON fanclub members.

Madonna has had the highest grossing tour since the beginning of June, according to Billboard magazine.
The pop star, 53, has made nearly $50 million (£32m) on her MDNA world tour since it started in Israel on 31 May.
The singer still has concerts to play across Europe and North America before finishing in Argentina just before Christmas.
Madonna has performed to more people then her closest competitors this year with 417,448 watching her shows so far.
In comparison, Lady Gaga has been seen by 180,498 and Jennifer Lopez by just over 20,000.

UK newspaper The Daily Mail shockingly gives Madonna's Hyde Park show a good review (apart from complaining about her baring her bottom):

Her current world tour has so far been noteworthy for the controversy she has whipped up in various European cities.
She flashed her right breast in Istanbul, the left one in Paris, and, when in Rome, even lowered her trousers to bare her backside.
So it was no surprise that Madonna was up to some of her old tricks again last night as she began the UK leg of her MDNA tour in Hyde Park.
But while the 53-year-old singer gave fans another brief but wholly gratuitous glimpse of her derriere during the song Human Nature, she did at least put the onus back on her music with a spectacularly accomplished open-air show.
Unlike Bruce Springsteen at the weekend, she also finished her set before any local council curfew and thus avoided having any plugs unceremoniously pulled.
The Queen of Pop’s latest album, also titled MDNA, provided the bedrock for a two-hour show that sent out a powerful message to any young pretenders eyeing up her crown.
That album reiterated her credentials as a dancing queen, and the singer got immediately into the groove as she opened the show with the shuddering electronics of Girl Gone Wild.
But, her desire to shock aside, Madonna didn’t become the most inventive female pop star of her generation by turning herself into a human jukebox recycling old hits. And, on this showing, she remains one of the greats.